Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday warned United States and other foreign parliaments to not interfere in her government’s affairs, reported Reuters. This came two days after thousands of demonstrators marched to the US consulate and called on President Donald Trump to “liberate” the city.

“It’s extremely inappropriate for foreign parliaments to interfere in HKSAR internal affairs in any way, and [we] will not allow [the United States] to become a stakeholder in HKSAR matters,” Lam said, and referred to Hong Kong by its status as a special administrative region of China.

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She called the interference by foreign parliaments in Hong Kong’s affairs as “deeply regrettable”. Lam said that any change to its economic relationship with Washington would threaten “mutual benefits”, AFP reported.

The protestors on Sunday had asked United States for help in bringing democracy to the Chinese-ruled city. They had called on American politicians to support their cause, waved US flags and shouted slogans such as “Fight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!”

They had also asked US Congress to pass legislation that would require Washington to make an annual assessment of whether Hong Kong was sufficiently autonomous from mainland China to retain special US trade and economic benefits.

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The protests have continued despite Lam withdrawing an extradition bill that sparked the protests in June and paralysed the city. Last month, Beijing claimed that criminals and agitators were stirring violence, encouraged by foreign powers such as Britain and the United States.

However, Trump had suggested China should “humanely” settle the problem in Hong Kong before a trade deal is reached with Washington. Earlier, the President had called the protests “riots” that were a matter for China to deal with.

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